Blood Clouds
by ColdHiddenBlade
Summary: Sakura and her newest Sensei are investigating an Orochimaru HQ, however so are the Akatsuki. While her Sensei and Itachi share a past and have no intent to start a fight, Sakura must stay careful, as she is the close friend of Naruto. Despite this, their masked moron seems interested in her for some reason... Female/Male, NSFW, Smutty


**Blood Clouds**

 _A ColdHiddenBlade oneshot_

* * *

 _Ryuu is an OC who I will be writing about later in the future who is based off an old character design of mine and the Crimson Fist from Naruto Online, this was simply a debut for him but the main sory is Sakura._

* * *

It was just the two of them investigating the recently discovered tunnels belonging to Orochimaru. The ANBU that passed on the message were nowhere to be seen, boding bad news for them both. Despite this set back, Sakura's newest sensei sent a message about the missing ANBU to Tsunade via a summon carrier-hawk, and promised to send another once they found out what was going on.

They snuck through the tunnels, Sakura kept aware of any chakra barriers that would warn their enemies of their presence, but there was nothing. It was like the tunnel had been abandoned for years. However, her sensei raised a finger to his lips, he could feel the odd tremors in the ground thanks to his earthen affinity meaning that they were not alone.

Her current sensei and teammate, Ryuu, led the way. His larger frame taking up a large chunk of the dark hallways. His golden, brown eyes scanned the darkness as he kept his chakra in check and hidden just as she did, hiding herself better then him thanks to her greater chakra control. The man looked back at her and did some quick, ANBU hand signals that she understood instantly.

Sakura pressed her back against the opposite wall and kept herself ready to move as they got closer to another door. Ryuu pushed it agape a little to look inside, his eyesight better then hers due to his many years training late into the night in the rocky outskirts of the Land of Wind. The nights there were always dark and long.

The young teen watched for any signal of trouble, before following him inside with careful steps. She went right and Ryuu went left as they came into a larger room filled with pillars. Ryuu sent a small spike of chakra through the room and found nobody inside. The tremors alerted him that at least one of the ninjas inside noticed the slight spike, "There is a Sensor here. Be careful." He whispered just loud enough for Sakura to hear.

She made a sound very similar to Sasuke's hum to sound that she heard and understood, Sakura kept low as she peered around the pillar, "There is another door over here."

"Same…" They both circled back into the centre of the room and crouched, Ryuu placed one hand on the ground and tracked the ninja by the slight vibrations of their feet. "The ninjas below are skilled, you take the right-side door and I will go left. So far I sense four on the right and more on my side…"

"Ok…" Sakura nodded with tight lips, she knew Ryuu could handle himself, but both had to be careful as they didn't know what to expect.

"If the four are Orochimaru's peons, be careful… if it is Akatsuki, do not engage them." Ryuu raised his finger hand from the ground and they both separated.

That was worrying. It was true that Akatsuki have been spotted investigating Orochimaru's hideouts as well as Konoha. Often their ANBU crossed the red and black clad men, neither sides ever lost lives unless the ANBU acted out first. However, being that Sakura was a close friend to Naruto, that might make the Akatsuki act out this time and it wasn't something they wanted to risk.

 **Ryuu**

He couldn't do much about making himself look small, he was a bulky man now after his harsh personal training for the past eight-plus years, after Itachi slaughtered his clan and almost killed Ryuu as the later tried to stop his former friend and ANBU captain… Thinking about it had the prominent scar on his neck itch.

Ryuu rubbed it with his palm while opening doors slightly so he could look inside.

No Sasuke, not surprising as the young Uchiha had killed Orochimaru already and was moving to find his brother… but what was unnerving was that he couldn't feel their ANBU, only unfamiliar ninjas walking around the deeper recesses anxiously… they must have been worried by the ANBU presence or something.

Water dripped onto the stone, that was the only sound he could hear over the steady thumps of his heart, he was ready to envelop his skin with his solid Earth Release: Earth Spear at any second if someone attacks.

It was eerily quiet, and if he didn't know better, he would think nothing ever lived down here.

His nose twitched as he came to what looked like the experimental section of the Hideout, even though his sense of smell wasn't as potent as the Inuzuka clan he could still smell old blood that caked the walls inside some of the rooms. Ryuu searched each room a little more thoroughly in hopes to find something that told him what this place was used for, as much as he wanted to avoid these rooms. It was common knowledge that Orochimaru was willing to experiment on children as well, and he didn't even want to think of that.

There was a slight tremor against his bare feet, he had removed his shoes before coming inside so he could sense movement without over-extending his chakra, and that was the only warning that he had before a flash of light filled the room. He put up his iron thick Release that made his skin go a deep charcoal, but didn't close his eyes in time when he recognised the shape of the grenade.

Pain shot through the nerves in his eyes, it was like the light itself was stabbing him with multiple fine needles making his eyes bleed. That was new, an experimental weapon?

He closed them and listened as a sword clinked harmlessly off his throat, the attacking ninja gasped deeply in surprise and couldn't defend themselves in time as Ryuu used his signature One-Inch Punch. Infused with some of his chakra.

The walls shattered as he sent the ninja flying through the walls, they didn't survive…

It became a hive of motion against his feet, he sensed Sakura pausing for a moment and the four he had warned her of began moving cautiously.

Those four worried him, they moved unlike the group that was running to face him. He had a bad feeling about this and hoped Sakura noticed too…

Keeping his eyes closed, Ryuu let his chakra free and sent it through the earth in one pulse. Behind his eye lids he saw many tunnels below and above like a network, and the image rippled in spots whenever someone touched the earth with their feet or hands. Cautiously he walked onwards, skin growing darker as he grinned.

This was going to be fun…

 **Sakura**

After parting from her sensei, Sakura slipped her cloaks hood over her head and looked through the holes of the attached ANBU mask that originally belonged to Ryuu. It was only used for missions such as this…

Sakura probably looked like quite the sight in the plain white mask, with its curling hannya-like horns. She wasn't tall, she was actually one of the shorter and most petite ones amongst her female friends. Behind the mask she could pull off being thirteen again instead of the sixteen, going on to seventeen. As embarrassing as it was to admit that…

The cloak hid her red and white clothing, as well as contained multiple pockets for her sealing scrolls.

Despite knowing that Sasuke had killed Orochimaru, Sakura still was weary of this place as if expecting the snake-sannin to appear from the shadows. She still had the occasional nightmare from the time in the Death Forest, the memory of being so scare that she could do nothing.

Shaking her head, Sakura pushed all thoughts of Sasuke and Orochimaru from her head, she was here for information of what the sannin was doing here, not to find her old teammate.

As she stopped to examine a room, she heard a distant bang and felt the pulse of Ryuu's chakra making her jump and go on the defensive. It took a lot of willpower not to send out a sensing pulse of her own to check on him, and keep her chakra hidden. Ryuu will be fine by himself, an ex ANBU for Kami's sake… she had to worry about herself instead. Sakura had no idea where the four ninjas that Ryuu had sensed were. They could be right outside the door for all she knew.

With that gut-nerving thought, Sakura gather scrolls she could find that looked interesting. Illegal medical experiments and jutsu that Orochimaru had made, and experimental weapons and poisons his lackeys crafted. Things that might give them information if any of these weapons came into a fight.

Sakura stored the information in a scroll and sealed it away in one of her pockets. This will have to do for now, unless she finds something really interesting.

Keeping to the walls she found her way to another hallway and paused. She wasn't the best sensor, nothing like Ino, but she could feel the powerful chakra heading her way. She ducked into a dark room and hid under the blood-stained cot in the centre of the room. Clearly used as an experiment table.

Holding her breath, Sakura waited as voices grew closer and swallowed a squeak as the door to the room opened. Her eyes were wide as she peered from the shadows and saw who it was.

"Senpai! It's so boring and dark here… can't we just leave it to Itachi-san!?" An orange masked Akatsuki skipped in behind Deidara. The blonde clicked his tongue against his teeth in annoyance while going through the scrolls on the nearby bench.

"Shut up Tobi, un." Deidara ground his teeth while his companion walked around the room unhelpfully.

"Can we go see what the noise was, at least?"

"Probably some Konoha ANBU and the Sound-ninja… we want nothing to do with that. Un…" Deidara threw the paper to the ground and pointed an accusing finger at Tobi, "Now shut up and search!"

"Aw…" Tobi lifted a scroll and held it far from his body, twisting it around like a child who couldn't work out if he was holding it the right way around. Damn he was annoying… thought Sakura while feeling tense.

Deidara hadn't sensed her, and it appeared that the other didn't either, but that could change at any given moment.

There was another bang, and dirt fell from the roof making Tobi yelp. In the distance Ryuu's chakra was barely notable as he used it only to defend with his diamond like skin or punch, but it was enough to make Deidara drop everything. Her sensei was close… maybe only a few tunnels over?

"Shit, that was too close!" The blond rushed from the door and Tobi followed with odd movements, like a school-girl chasing their senpai. "We need to hurry!"

"Senpai! Senpai, wait for Tobi!" The masked man paused as he stopped at the door and looked back. He tilted his head as he gazed at Sakura's hiding place, but said nothing and instead shrugged. Maybe he thought her tiny amount of chakra was a bug or something…

When it got quiet, aside from the occasional bang, Sakura waited for a few heartbeats before sliding out of her place. She didn't bother to summon a clone in case the two were till nearby and instead peered out the door. Empty.

Staying to the walls again, Sakura continued going deeper. She could sense Ryuu keeping level with her and knew he was keeping an eye on her. He must have noticed the two so close to her.

Nothing caught her eye as she came to another big room. An odd waterfall filled up one wall and a third door sat far to her left. Sakura noticed a few scrolls scattered beside the water and crept over, she read them from a distance at first before moving over to lift them.

This was Sasuke's writing. It was easy to tell, he had a neat flow to his lettering that was only taught amongst the children of the main branch of the Uchiha family.

Apparently, he stayed here for a short while before moving onwards ages before he killed Orochimaru, but no one moved his notes away. Water ruined a few of them, and each one wasn't all that interesting. Just a few notes on his ninjutsu's and how he wanted to upgrade his skills. Nothing they already knew.

She pocketed them anyway just in case her sensei could spot something of interest, he knew ninjutsu better then she.

The third door slammed open and Sakura had no time to hide, she pulled out a kunai and faced the new arrivals. Recognising the blue form of Kisame, Sakura lowered her eyes before she met Itachi's eyes. Shit, of all people it had to be Sasuke's murderous brother.

"Huh? A Konoha ANBU?" Asked Kisame as the two walked leisurely towards her, "Hey girl… walk along if you value your life. We don't care about you."

Sakura bristled in annoyance, but didn't make a move to attack. "Why are you here? Orochimaru has been dead a while, you have no reason to hunt him anymore."

"Questions, huh?" Kisame laughed showing his shark-like teeth. "Brave little thing…"

He went quiet as there was another bang making the ground rumble. Kisame peered at the roof with a frown, he wasn't the best sensor either so he couldn't work out what direction it was coming from.

"One of your friends?" He asked while leaning on his sword in a bored manner, "They seem to be causing quite some damage up there…"

"There are a few sound ninja still here…" Sakura said after some hesitation, she didn't want to give any information, "They probably pissed him off somehow."

Again, Kisame laughed before eyeing the unfazed Uchiha, "Let's find the others. As much as I would love to fight her friend, we are not here for that."

Just as he mentioned them the door where Sakura came from opened again, "Kisame-san, Itachi-senpai!" The hyperactive Tobi skipped inside with his grumbling teammate behind him, he paused when he noticed Sakura. "Gasp! Where did she come from!?"

Deidara stood with the others with an accusing glare, his hands ready to blow shit up even if Itachi already told him 'no explosions.'

"Hn." Hummed Itachi and Sakura felt her heart clench at how similar it was to Sasuke… don't think of him! The four stood only a few meters from Sakura and it took everything not to look into Itachi's eyes, it was so difficult. "Something about her is familiar."

Sakura's brow twitched… shit, of course he could recognise her chakra even while hidden and that they had only met via that human-clone during the rescue of Gaara. She was after all the teammate of Naruto, and formerly his brothers…

"I doubt she is really an ANBU…" His eyes seemed to widen only slightly with recognition as he stared at the mask, "That mask is Suga's…"

Sakura flinched at the old ANBU nickname of sensei that she only heard Kakashi say, admitting to Itachi that it was true. He recognised Ryuu's mask? Her sensei once said he was once ANBU under Itachi's leadership, but she didn't think the Uchiha would recognise it so easily. Especially that it was now painted porcelain white.

"Why do you wear Suga's mask?" Itachi stepped closer with an accusing tone, typically a mask would be destroyed upon the death or retirement of the ANBU owner, and his only thoughts as to why she had it was if she stole it.

It was traditional, as if saying they erased that part of their life and were going to move on, or that their teammates were trying to help them on in the afterlife. The true fact that Sakura had it was only because Ryuu couldn't let go of his past, and he didn't actually fully retire or die.

Being her sensei, he passed it on to her.

Sakura tightened her lips and prepared for a fight and flight, she knew she wouldn't hold up well against the Uchiha AND Kisame at the same time, but if she could get away it would be ok. Kisame grinned when he noticed her pose, "I don't think she wants to answer that, Itachi-kun…"

Once more Itachi hummed, and took one more step…

BANG!

"Haaah!" Roared her sensei as he shoulder-charged through the wall, a bulky sound-ninja was already unconscious (or dead) against his shoulder and flew through the next wall as Ryuu stopped his charge suddenly.

He gave the Akatsuki no time or care as he looked in Sakura's direction despite standing in arms reach of Kisame, she started when she saw his face. Blood stained down his cheeks as if he was crying blood, he opened his eyes to stare in her general location and she instantly noted that they were reddened. Something small had cut into them, damaging the nerves inside but not the globes themselves. His sight was probably black or super blurry.

"Sensei, what happened to your eyes?"

"Most likely an experimental flash bomb," He turned his head as he sensed the four nearby and squinted closely at Itachi's face, confirming her second theory on his sight, "Are they Akatsuki?"

"Yes, Itachi and Kisame, inducing Deidara and…" She looked at the masked man with a frown, "… Tobi?"

"Hai! Tobi is a good boy!"

"Clearly an idiot…" Said Ryuu smoothly making Sakura chuckle and Deidara nod his head in agreement, Tobi whined. "Itachi." He inclined his head in familiarity, his voice hitched only slightly before he turned back to Sakura.

"The sound-ninja have called for reinforcement, whatever information you have found will have to do." He rolled his neck while waling past the Akatsuki towards the door Sakura came from, "We need to go. I recommend the Akatsuki do the same. We need to erase this place from existence."

Only Deidara seemed ruffled by Ryuu's tone, Itachi was focusing on Ryuu with his sharingan. He looked from Ryuu's short spiky red hair, to the small horned Konoha forehead protector, then his eyes graced over the prominent scar on the man's thick neck.

Itachi was frowning only faintly at Ryuu as he recognised the positioning of the scar, "Suga?"

"Weasel…" Ryuu said almost out of habit (he flinched as he realised his mistake) before continuing to walk, "Yes I know. I used to be shorter then you."

"Sensei, your eyes…" Sakura rushed after him with the desire to heal him before anything, hiding her anxiety as she passed Deidara, the blonde breathed in as if trying to catch a sent off her. Sakura was a female ninja, she would never wear floral perfume or even soap. The man seemed slightly disappointed.

"After we leave." He said in a firm voice. Sakura fell in step with him and didn't say a word as the Akatsuki followed by a few steps back, Tobi ran around acting like they were all friends.

"Neh! Whose Suga?!" He wrapped his arms around Ryuu and the tall man didn't even look fazed by the weight while Sakura tensed and made a fist, but Ryuu raised a hand in her direction. He knew she wanted to punch the odd Akatsuki member.

"Suga is an old nickname, used to work with Itachi." Ryuu pulled at Tobi's collar so he was a little higher and not chocking his neck as much, he was used to people like Tobi now after spending so much time with Naruto and the Genin kids this past year. The idiot was the exact same after ramen.

Tobi seemed surprised and wrapped his legs around Ryuu and went 'weee' with arms up, despite the fact that they all moved slowly. Ryuu could only see the walls and floor, if something stationary got in his way he would easily trip on it. Unless Sakura warned him.

"Damn it, Tobi!" Deidara yanked the others hair to try and pull him off, but Tobi's legs her fastened around Ryuu's waist causing the bigger man to be yanked back slightly. "Get off him, he is the enemy."

"But…" Tobi wrapped his arms around Ryuu's neck again and held on like a sulky child. "I'm so tired. We've been walking all day."

"Leave him be, Deidara." Said Itachi without a hint of annoyance while coming up closer to Ryuu so he could ask, "Did you tell her?"

"Huh…" Said everyone. Sakura looked up and noted the blush beneath all the blood on Ryuu's face.

"The first thing you ask me is THAT?" Ryuu looked like he didn't believe this and looked down, Itachi was giving him 'that' look and he didn't need to see it to feel it. "Yes, I well-damn told her!"

"She didn't believe you…" Itachi nodded as he guessed the outcome.

Ryuu sighed and dropped his head sullenly, and Sakura took a moment to process the words and his reaction… then she remembered the conversation between Ryuu and his sister that she and the others of Team Kakashi witnessed.

"Seriously!" She put a hand to her masks forehead and sighed, "Your talking about his love-life? Now!?"

Itachi replied with an indifferent shrug while Tobi said, "Nenene! What are you talking about?"

"Got me curious too." Kisame grinned as he wrapped an arm over Sakura's shoulders as if they were all friends making her tense and very glad for the mask, "Got a girl you are crushing on?"

Ryuu was losing his calm and stern expression under all the focus and clenched his teeth, he wasn't going to say anything. Neither was Sakura or Itachi. Let the others fester with curiosity…

It wasn't hard to get back outside, only a few ninjas attacked and were quick to be pushed back by the odd group. Outside, Ryuu moved his shoulders in a way that surprised Tobi making him fall onto his ass in a tangle of screaming limbs, "Right… lets get rid of this place."

He knelt closer to the ground and Sakura stood behind him, in case the Akatsuki decided to attack now, or more sound ninjas.

The rouge ninjas watched mildly as Ryuu made quick signs and pressed his hands into the earth. "Release!"

Everything rumbled, and the ground in front of them cracked towards the mountain entrance. Ryuu shouted and pushed more chakra into the ground, and before them the entire ground broke apart and crumbled to the point of being sand. The rocky mountain sank like it was in quicksand before everything went quiet…

When Ryuu stepped away, before them was a solid crater off rubble. The sandy sections had hardened, sealing away all that remained of Orochimaru's tunnels.

"Impressive." Said Itachi, "You have certainly become more destructive. Good to see that it can be used on purpose now…"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Kakashi had told them of what Ryuu was like during his youth, destruction was always something he was good at and often he had brought down buildings around them because of a badly aimed punch. He was like her, unable to control the direction of his damage and just shattered everything.

Tobi tilted his head at her laugh, almost curious.

"Hm." Ryuu went back to his stern mask as he wiped his brow, that took a bit of chakra from him. He was left vulnerable as he couldn't sense the ground, and didn't want to send out another pulse unless he needed too. Knowing what happened, Sakura took his arm and slowly led him to the abandoned ANBU camp. Which reminded her…

"Did you find the others?"

"By the smell, they were all killed after sending that message. Probably by the same flash-bomb they threw at me…" Sakura lowered Ryuu to the tree-log that acted as a chair and pulled of her gloves, she placed her hands over his eyes and sent her chakra in to begin healing the nerves.

The Akatsuki didn't seem like they were going anywhere, instead they made the camp their own. Tobi went to gather wood, Kisame to fish for dinner and refill their water tankards (including Sakura's and Ryuu's despite the girl's disagreement), Itachi used the few branches left to make a fire with his jutsu, and Deidara flew into the skies on one of his clay birds to search the area with his scope.

Sakura could see why Akatsuki were fearful, they worked in such great tandem even with the simple act of making camp. If only the new team were the same… Sai and Naruto would fight over jobs, Yamato would make them a hut to sleep in (the best thing of being on the road with Yamato), Kakashi would hide in the trees to catch up on his perverted book, and Sakura would try to make the boy's work leading to her doing nothing as well. Only Ryuu ever did anything, and right now he was indisposed.

It was up to her to keep him safe.

Itachi sat across from them, looking like he had no interest or intention to interact with them on any kind of level. He stared into the fire with his sharingan eyes while Sakura focused all attention on Ryuu's eyes.

"Tobi's back!" Said Tobi while skipping over, he dropped the firewood beside Itachi and then crouched so his face was really close to Sakura's hands, "Wow, that's pretty chakra!"

"Move, you are distracting." Not really, but Sakura didn't was to say that it was because he was annoying and smelt strongly of sandalwood. A smell that always made her want to sneeze desperately.

When Tobi didn't move (and Sakura was getting to the point of wanting to punch him), Ryuu brought up his hand and put in on top of the masked man's head and seemed to pet his hair, startling them once more. "Sit down." He said in a firm, but not unkind, voice.

Using the weight of his hand (an no chakra) Ryuu managed to make Tobi sit giving Sakura more room to work. Tobi crossed his arms and seemed to pout under his mask, his one eye watching as Sakura's chakra put Ryuu's eyes back together nerve by nerve.

The other two returned to the clearing, "A few ninjas were at the old hideout, but were quick to flee at the sight of that crater." Said Deidara as he flopped to the ground with an undignified grunt, he gave the Konoha ninjas angry expressions. Good thing he didn't know it was her, Sasori's killer.

Else shit would get bad really quick.

Sakura lost count of time, but once she was satisfied with Ryuu's eyes she caught the scent of food which made her stomach growl. She had depleted quite a bit of her chakra fixing the damage, "Keep your eyes shut."

Ryuu didn't go against her as she rearranged his hitai-ate so it covered his eyes. The blood on his cheeks was sticky but he brushed away her concern, he will wash it off later. He wasn't all that concerned about it.

Kisame passed Sakura some fish he had cut up for her and Ryuu, after accepting it with some hesitation Sakura examined it quickly for any evidence of poison. Finding only seasonings, she gave Ryuu the bigger portion. "Can you eat on your own?"

"Yes… go on." Ryuu took the giant ass leaf with the mean on it and happily munched on it with his hands. Sakura was reluctant to leave him here alone with the Akatsuki, but she was hungry.

As Sakura stood to go find a private place to remove her mask enough to eat, Deidara stood up angrily. "The hell you think you are going?"

"Enough, Deidara…" Itachi sighed as he almost daintily ate his own food with a fork.

"We can't let her go off alone!"

"Tobi can go with her!" Said the masked man, he hadn't touched his food yet either and clearly was in the same situation as her, he didn't want to take it off around the others. "Tobi is a good boy, he will watch over her!"

It didn't do much to lower Deidara's anger, but he did return to his seat to begin eating again. Receiving an agreeing nod from Itachi, both Sakura and Tobi went off near the river.

They paused and stared at one another, how would they do this. "I guess you can face that way… and I'll look that way?" She suggested.

That made Tobi hope around with vigorous nods. They sat back to back on a stone so they weren't touching but could sense the others proximity and both removed their masks, Tobi was (thankfully) silent as he ate except for the occasional hum of glee. Sakura had to agree with him, Kisame knew how to cook fish that was for sure.

She tucked an annoying piece of pink hair behind her ear. A pair of gloved hands touched her head making her tense, Sakura looked back with wide eyes and looked into the orange mask with surprise. She felt the Akatsuki tense for a second as he seemed to focus on her.

In a deeper voice (nothing like his childish one) the man almost seemed to whisper, "Beautiful…"

"Ah?" Sakura blushed.

"Ah! Sorry." Tobi jumped back and waved his hands apologetically while reverting back to his childish tone, Sakura discarded their leaf-plates and fixed her hair from where Tobi had made it fall out from its bindings. As she did so, she didn't notice how Tobi grew closer and seemed content to stare at her face.

How she wanted to scream. But Ryuu had improved on her bad habits and she pushed down the sound, making only an odd grunting noise instead. "W-What?"

"Are you really a ninja?" He asked with pure innocence, "You're really pretty…"

A blush lifted onto Sakura's cheeks again. He had to be the first (minus Ryuu) to have called her beautiful. He sensei only said it because he found her having a moment of low-esteem after meeting with Ino and Hinata, both women had grown up to become drop-dead gorgeous while Sakura only seemed to gain more muscle… Having a stranger (a missing-nin) say it so purely caught her off guard.

"Oh, thank you… Tobi-kun."

"Yay! She said Tobi-kun!" He flung his arms in the air and did an odd tippy-toe dance, "Tobi is so happy."

To hide her blush, and the bubbling laugh, Sakura pulled the mask back on and raised her finger to her lips which Tobi mimicked like a child. "Keep this a secret from the others. Ok?"

"Yes!" He put his thumbs up eagerly before skipping back to the others, humming cheerfully.

Deidara looked up from where he was picking out old clay from the teeth in his hands. Beneath her mask, Sakura cringed at the mouths and wet tongues… gross.

"Enjoy the meal?" Asked Ryuu, "I asked Kisame-san about his recipe…"

"Of course, you did." Sakura huffed in amusement. Her sensei looked right at home amongst the Akatsuki, no tenseness in his shoulders, just an overall friendly stance as he sat wrapped in his blanket. That would change in an instant if any of them tried to harm either of them, Sakura especially.

Sakura sat beside Ryuu against the roots of a tree, he let her take comfort under his arm and blanket. He was always warm and Sakura zeroed in on that as night fell and began to get that chill in the air. "Get some sleep." He whispered only for her to hear, "We will move onwards in the morning."

"Yes, sensei." Sakura let her eyes fall shut, but did not sleep as she was acutely aware of all movement around her. Knowing this, Ryuu stroked her covered head softly.

Itachi didn't move from his spot, and if it weren't for his sharingan spinning at the flames Sakura would think he fell asleep with his eyes open. On his left, Kisame poked the fire a couple of times to try and rearrange the logs and sticks, before moving himself over to the bed rolls Deidara had set out for them. The blue man fell asleep the second his head hit the ground.

The blonde stared at Ryuu and Sakura for a second, before curling beneath his blankets. Almost like he was taking security in being surrounded by the darkness.

After what felt like an age, Tobi dragged his bedroll closer to Ryuu and curled up on his other side similar to how Deidara did. His hair barely visible from where his head rested against Ryuu's thigh. He seemed to enjoy the heat coming from the bigger man too.

Ryuu didn't seem to mind. He hesitated for only a second at the odd actions from the other man, but he placed his other hand on their head and simply let it rest there. Tobi went tense under his blanket, but relaxed when he felt Ryuu wasn't doing anything besides this and decided to listen along with Sakura as Itachi spoke.

"How is Shiro?"

"Hasn't changed a bit," Ryuu said without hesitating, "despite being twenty minutes older then me. Still lives with the parents, and still harassing me with her 'friends' every day."

"Trying to get you on dates, again?" Itachi hummed in understanding as he threw on another log onto the fire, "Is it still Himeko? She was the only one that I remember not running away in tears."

Ryuu grimaced at the memories… "Persistent women." He hissed and clicked his tongue against his teeth, "Can't take no as an answer and thinks I am lying when I tell the truth."

"Maybe you should get a boyfriend?" Mumbled Sakura sleepily making Ryuu flinch and blush (Tobi shifted only slightly at this new information), "That will make her bite her tongue?"

"How about you find a boyfriend?" He returned playfully in a childish voice, this was not the first time they had this kind of conversation.

"Touché." She laughed softly as she used his usual reply.

"Touché…?"

Sakura sighed in mild annoyance, "… Sensei…" He pat her head again before resting his arm around her waist.

She relaxed against him even more and felt sleep fog her mind a little more. Sakura only barely listened to the rest of the conversation.

"How is Tenzo and Kakashi?" Asked Itachi after a pause.

After going over what information he could say Ryuu finally replied with, "Tenzo cut his hair… Kakashi is the same as ever." Again, he paused, "We all left the ANBU though."

"I see." Itachi closed his eyes to block out the fire's light, "You have certainly changed a lot too."

"As I have been reminded, every day." Ryuu chuckled, "Kakashi nearly wet himself when he saw me, and Tenzo wasn't much better."

"Well… you were small back then despite being older then me." Itachi spoke in his calm tone with a hint of familiarity, "If I recall you were paler too."

"Milky white." Ryuu chuckled, his skin was now a nice shade of bronze, years of the sun did wonders for his pasty skin tone. He used to always look sick… "And my hair was as long as yours. Time changes everyone."

Itachi hummed in agreement, before moving over to his own bedroll. "Get sleep. Hopefully we part before you wake."

"Night, Weasel." Ryuu spoke with a lift to his tone, teasingly.

In the morning, Sakura woke to still being pressed by Ryuu's side. The man was snoring lightly, he was exhausted after yesterday and his eyes were throbbing. She glanced around.

The Akatsuki were all gone, only leaving behind a smoking fireplace and what looked like more fish that Kisame must have made early that morning, leaving enough for Sakura and Ryuu to have for breakfast.

After sending out her chakra to sense if they were still nearby (and finding only silence), Sakura removed herself from Ryuu's side making him stir.

"Morning… the others gone?"

"Yes, sensei." Sakura pulled off her masked cloak and folded it safely away into her side-bag. She returned her locks to their usual state and then gathered the meal. Finding it not poisoned again, and still warm, she gave Ryuu some.

Ryuu thanked her and ate, Sakura didn't take long to finish hers. They both needed to be on the road and she wanted to check Ryuu's eyes first before they began to move.

"Are you ok?" Asked Ryuu after a moment, "Last night your chakra showed some distress…"

"Ah. That Tobi guy was acting really… odd." Ryuu gave her a look that had her clarify, "Touching my hair, said I was beautiful…"

"Huh." Ryuu dusted his backside as he stood, "I told you that you were… still don't believe me?"

"Shut up…" She didn't need him to say it again. The whole 'I told you so' crap. "Keep your eyes shut."

He bent over enough that Sakura could removed his Hitai-ate and place her palms over his eyes again, her chakra gave a soft green glow as she examined the damage she repaired. Looked good, but she wasn't going to risk the sun damaging it more.

"Keep your hitai-ate over your eyes for at least another day." At her words Ryuu hummed with displeasure but didn't go against her medic demand. She was the doctor not him and he knew where his place was with this. He stood uselessly to the side as Sakura packed up their few belongings and took up his arm.

Ryuu let his chakra spike out this time, traveling through each rock and plant in front of him so they could travel at a reasonable pace to the closest road, then begin to run.

"Let me know if you start feeling any irritation," she shouted back at him as Ryuu followed the vibrations of her feet, "and if you sense anyone."

"Not sure my senses will be helpfully out here, Sakura." He replied with a cough (something he got regularly in the mornings. "There are too many animals breaking the ground."

That was understandable. Sakura made sure to be double alert due to her sensei's lack of sense towards other ninja and had her feet land just a little harder on the ground to make her footfalls more obvious. If someone came at them with masked chakra then she was going to have to alert him.

Taktaktaktaka. Went their steps as they ran along the road, the sun had risen high and Sakura's hair was illuminated brightly making it appear lighter. Almost looking as pink as the petals of her namesake.

They didn't stop running for more then a few minutes each time, catching the breath and Ryuu's eyes. It wasn't until they were back in the Fire Country boarders and that the sun was setting low again, that they stopped by the river.

"Clean your face sensei and go get sleep," Sakura led him to the water edge, knowing full well that he couldn't sense water as well as he could the earth, water was her affinity not his. "and tomorrow you should be able to open your eyes again."

Ryuu did as told obediently as Sakura set up a quick camp, then retired under his blanket again without bothering with a bedroll. He was way too used to sleeping in a cave…

When she made sure Ryuu was asleep, and not going anywhere anytime soon, the young teenager removed her hitai-ate and went to the water. She followed the stream until she was further away. Close enough to get to Ryuu if something wakes him, but far enough that she had some privacy.

Using the hand signs that her sensei taught her, Sakura summoned up two walls. One in front of her a few meters into the water, and the other against the current. It gave her some cover and also slowed the water's current to a softer trickle so that she won't wash away.

Sakura began to strip. Unwrapping her kunai pouch, followed with her medic 'skirt' and shirt. Leaving herself in her leggings and breast-bindings, Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and folded her clothes neatly on the ground where it won't get wet. After scanning the area with her eyes, she removed the rest.

Slowly Sakura wadded into the water, shivering at the cold but didn't stop until she was almost waist deep. Using the wall as a prop to balance on, Sakura bent over to cup some water into her other hand and using her chakra she made the water stay in her hand like a bubble.

Sakura brought it to her lips and drank, the cold-water soothing.

 **Obito**

He knew she had been there, under the cot. Deidara had been completely oblivious of her chakra and he had to hide his scoff at the man's stupidity. Instead Obito kept to his Tobi persona the entire time and pretended to be just as stupid.

One thing Obito noted as he let his hidden sharingan grace over the girls hidden chakra, was that she looked warm… the flow was clearly that of a medic. But underneath it was a force he could not ignore if he ended up fighting them.

When he saw her again staring down Itachi and Kisame without a quiver in her hands, he felt a little more interested in her.

As he messed with her 'sensei' Obito stared at the girl, he noticed she still hid her chakra despite the Akatsuki already being aware of her existence. She didn't seem to notice his attentions. The only time she let her chakra free just a bit was when she healed that 'Suga's' eyes and Obito couldn't help but watch with a heavy feeling of recognition. A medic like Rin… but older and more experienced.

It wasn't until they both were eating (and when he was finished) that he risked looking back - curiosity getting the better off him - and was stunned. The wind was gently picking up her hair, as pink as the trees Rin loved… pain pinged his chest before he replaced his mask. Obito watched the girl push a strand behind her ear revealing some milky skin, but he could not see her eyes.

Without meaning too he reached out and touched the locks, as if trying to find out if it was real. When startled, emerald eyes looked back at him… Obito was almost speechless.

Despite not being anything like Rin, he was still caught in those eyes, hypnotized into them almost… his heart raced just a little faster and his mouth formed words he didn't mean to say… "Beautiful…"

God he was reverting back to a lovestruck idiot! Obito reached under his mask to brush away a strand of hair getting into his eye. They had all returned to the closest hideout, which hadn't been very far from where they had camped with the Konoha ninja… Obito thought they only camped the night because Itachi was feeling reminiscent.

Standing alone outside, Obito pushed his mask so it sat on his head and stared at nothing. His mind went to green eyes instead of brown. Of all women to get suddenly besotted on, it had to be Kakashi's student and the Kyuubi's friend… no woman should give him such a reaction. Only Rin…

Rin's gone. Whispered one of the familiar voices in his head (the one that sounded like child Obito) making Obito clench his teeth and slam a fist into the tree he leaned on making the bark snap under his strength. And she won't be coming back, that pink-haired Blossom is still alive.

Stop tearing yourself apart, stop this madness. Said the one that sounded like Rin, pleading…

NO! Obito couldn't forget Rin, he loved her… LOVES her. He corrected quickly then paused, that was the first time he ever used past tense. It shocked his inner battles into silence.

Green eyes, pink hair. At that thought, Rin's voice whispered at him again. Go find her.

Unable to deny 'Rin', Obito searched the area where he last saw the pair.

The camp was empty, but he could still feel the young woman's chakra in the air. She had healed that Suga guy, and they had moved on only recently. For a moment Obito was jealous, before recalling the conversation from last night.

'Get a boyfriend.' She had said to the man… which could only mean that this Suga was gay.

The thought didn't give him much relief, but it was good to know that not only was she single, but the man she seemed constantly close to wasn't going to be a romantic rival like Kakashi had been. Reluctantly.

Obito scouted the area and found them after following Suga's chakra trail. He must be using it to sense around, as his eyes were still covered… but the young woman drew his main focus. She had removed her cloak and mask at some point giving him a view of her shape.

Beneath her clothes he could tell she was well-built. Not those weak-curvy figures of most female ninjas, made only to flirt and seduce. This woman was built to fight. And knowing now that she was Tsunade's student made Obito very aware of the fact that if given the chance she could turn him to a stain. He was glad of his ability to become intangible now.

She seemed very petite and nothing like a ninja, but Obito knew not to be fooled. Beautiful and almost unassuming on the outside, but a powerful bull below who could destroy everything with a finger. He could only guess what Suga was teaching her, he was a wild card unlike Tsunade. Even Itachi didn't know his new capabilities and what he could teach.

Obito watched from the shadows for hours as they ran deeper into the Fire country, and he had the urge to turn tail and run back. Deidara probably was wondering where he was… it wasn't because he was too afraid to interact with the young woman…

The two he trailed behind stopped for the night. The woman healed Suga's eyes, then when the man was asleep, she made her way to the water. Oh Kami! A tightness formed in his groin as he realised what she was doing, but followed like he was drawn in by a rope.

Obito couldn't draw his eyes away as he watched her perform a rock-wall. Clearly not her element, but her chakra control was the best he had ever seen… then she began to strip and he drooled just slightly… only a bit.

Every part of her skin was milky white, and taunt muscles showed that she was not a weak woman, as well as the scars that marred sections of her body. One prominent one on her stomach was mirrored in her back, telling Obito that she had been skewered and came out on top.

The clothes she wore usually did her no justice. She had a figure, sure she wasn't a curvy hourglass but she did have quite the pretty shape. Her breasts were palm sized just as he liked them. Not massive globes that looked impractical.

As he watched, she bent over in the water to cup some water, using her chakra to bring a bubble to her lips where she drank… seeing her ass, sculpted from squats and kami knows what else, had heat rise to Obito's neck and his stomach twist needily. He walked over on quiet steps.

Without the young woman noticing, he removed his boots, gloves, and Akatsuki cloak and put it near her things. Then stepped into the water without a sound.

When he was behind her, he brought one hand up to her mouth and the other pressed against her side. "Hi!"

 **Sakura**

A hand wrapped around her mouth making Sakura squeak, and another warm one rested on her hip. She felt a masked face press into her throat and a familiar voice piped up, "Hi!"

Tobi? Why was he here!?

Sakura went tense as Tobi's hand (the one on her hip) began to trace pathways down her legs, and curiously squeezed one of her butts' globes, humming in glee at how it felt. After a moment, he removed his hand from her mouth and let it mirror motions on her other side.

Goosebumps rose to Sakura's skin, following his coarse hands up across her stomach. Her breath hitched as those battle-torn palms cupped her breasts perfectly, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She sent an elbow into his stomach making Tobi grunt in pain.

"Ouch!" One hand gripped her wrist and Tobi pressed his body against Sakura, making her put in an awkward position between the wall and him, no room to move. "Tobi can't help himself! When Tobi sees blossom-chan, he gets in trouble!"

"Trouble…?" Sakura jumped when Tobi grinded his hips against her backside, an obvious clothed lump rubbed against her womanhood making her blush vibrantly. Seriously, an Akatsuki member was getting a hard on for her!? She bit her lip when Tobi repeated the motion a few more times.

She could hear his breath getting ragged beneath his mask, and his hand spasmed against her. For a moment (as he suddenly stilled) Sakura thought he had cum, but when he pressed his groin against her again, she could feel the lump still throbbing hard and his pants weren't wet. Tobi's hand left her wrist to come down to her slit, where he traced the outline of it.

Sakura's vision became narrow and burred around the edges as her body betrayed her. A small moan escaped through her bitten lips making Tobi act with more purpose, two of his thick fingers slipped inside her and began to work at her. The young pinkette couldn't work out if this man was inexperienced, or experience in the art of sex.

While his breathing and hips were out of control, his fingers scissored her insides with vigour, building up a burn in her stomach faster then her own fingers could. His body temperature was higher then her own making it clear someone else was touching her… oh kami, someone was touching her.

Before she could control herself, Sakura's head fell back in a moan and Tobi seemed to tense when it rested on his shoulder with a thump. After realising that it wasn't pain that she was feeling, or her fighting against him, Tobi picked up the pace.

His hips became more desperate and he added a third finger. Sakura blushed when she heard them entering her, her body expelling womanly-juices to make it easier for him to drive her crazy.

"Damn it…" Groaned Tobi, his voice deepening with need against her ear, he fumbled with his pants for a moment and Sakura hissed in want when she felt his manhood rub against her without the barrier of clothing. Tobi moved his hips again and Sakura let her head drop so that her forehead was against the cool stone.

Her emerald eyes watched as his pulsing member slid in and out between her thighs, the tip already dripping with precum and smearing against his wet knuckles. This was the first time that she had seen a man like this… sure she had seen plenty of naked men over the years at the hospital, but never hard and needy for her. Despite having him controlling the pace behind her, Sakura felt empowered.

Maybe it was this feeling of power that had her bring her hand down between her thighs. Against her neck Tobi's breath caught in his throat as he felt her slender fingers touch him and everything but his own fingers froze. Sakura stroked the underside of his cock in an almost amazed fashion, feeling each vein being pumped with blood, she knew Tobi would be feeling rather light-headed from the lack of blood in his brain.

Her hand twitched when Tobi hit some nerves, sensing the reaction with his rapid-ninja reflexes Tobi hit it again with his fingers and growled when Sakura moaned and arched against him. Tobi wrapped his arms around Sakura's midsection and thrust his hips against her hand, his whole body shook. "Damn… I… Tobi needs…"

It seemed like he had no idea what to say as his voice changed octaves. Sakura looked over her shoulder and looked at that masks one eye-hole. She could see nothing beyond it, and could only hear his desperate breaths. What did SHE want? She knew what he wanted, but was it the same as she?

He was Akatsuki, that she could not forget. Sure, he was unlike the others of the organization, he seemed childish and innocent, but his chakra flared occasionally with dark hints that had the hair on her arms raise. Dark and dangerous that were counteracted with his gentle and unsure hands.

Forget it… Sasuke doesn't want you, you finally have a guy wanting you right now! Her inner voice shouted while pumping a fist, Fuck him senseless!

Swallowing the lump in her throat and steeling herself, Sakura moved his tip to her entrance making Tobi's fingers twitch rapidly against her again. It didn't take him long to realise what she was getting at…what she was telling him to do without words. And it clearly excited him greatly.

Tobi held her hips firmly and pressed his tip in slowly, he seemed to take note of the hitch of her breath and took his time as to not tear her apart. Sakura hummed in thanks and let her head fall back again, she could hear him muttering to himself but couldn't catch the words through his mask.

They both moaned as Tobi hit the halfway point, "Ne! You're squeezing Tobi!" Said the man in a strangled voice. "It feels weird!"

"Just shut up and move." Sakura snapped, she wanted more.

Sakura was certain she could 'hear' Tobi pout under his mask but began to do as commanded, he pulled out and thrust back in. He continued the motion sending sparks through them both. Sakura moaned and spread her legs a little more so he could slide in further.

It didn't hurt much despite being her first time (years of running around as a ninja may have had a hand in this), his cock inside her just felt like an odd pressure she was unused too, but her wet walls didn't hesitate to spread wide and let him in. In only a few thrusts Tobi was able to bury himself all the wat to his hips, he moaned deeply when his groin hit the soft meat of her ass. Inside, Sakura could feel his long-length hit something and her reaction was eaten up by Tobi's quick eye.

"That's it…" Tobi's hands tightened into her hips as he picked up his pace (while hitting that spot again), his voice was deep with pleasure. "Damn it! So good!"

"Hah! T-Tobi…" Her moan had him spasm again and he started to pull her hips into him with each thrust, his manhood was ploughing so deep into her that the feeling borderline discomfort. Her hand pressed against the wall and the other fisted into the back of Tobi's hair to hold on.

There was a soft click followed shortly by a panting mouth pressed against her throat. Sakura's walls twitched making Tobi hiss into her skin, his tongue ran up the back of her neck and along her shoulder and he nipped her occasionally. Hard enough to leave faint marks.

It felt good, it felt so good. Sakura tightened her hands as she felt a pleasant burning sensation in her womb, before tingles of pleasure washed through her entire body making her need to bite into her knuckles to stop from crying out.

Her walls tightened as she came.

Tobi clearly enjoyed the feeling more then she thought possible. His breathing was almost strangled as he fucked her harder, her womanly juices dripped down her thighs as he pounded in and out.

Then his teeth tightened just a little bit more in the crook of her neck and shoulder, his hands twitched rapidly as he groaned. Warmth filled Sakura and she moaned again into her hand, tasting the tang of her blood on her tongue.

Tobi came too, spilling his seed inside her.

They stilled, neither of them moved beyond panting and shaking.

After their heartbeats returned to a more natural pace, Tobi placed gentle kisses where he had bitten her then traced his lips up to her ear. "Beautiful…" He whispered in that deep, starstruck voice again while stroking her hip with his thumb.

Sakura moaned as Tobi pulled out of her with a wet pop and their mixed cum bubbled from her body to run down her legs thanks to gravity. The man moved back just enough to replace his mask and watch it, approving of the sight with a proud scoff. After a moment of staring, Tobi returned to the rocky river-bed and replaced his boots and cloak. His pants were soaked with water up to the knees and was uncomfortable, but it was worth it in his opinion.

Biting her lip, Sakura slid to her knees and submerged herself more in the water, it was freezing against her feverous skin but a huge relief. Her pale fingers gently stroked her abused slit, usually she would be scared of the thought of having a mans cum in her (other then Sasuke's), but she didn't feel disgust nor fear.

She was one of the greatest medics of Konoha, pregnancy wasn't a worry for her… and for the lack of disgust, it was weird she had to admit.

Sakura should be angry at herself for giving her innocence over so willingly to an Akatsuki member. But she couldn't bring anything to the surface, just a calm relief. Even for a moment, someone appreciated her presence more than the girl that healed them when they did something stupid. The girl that cried when her closest people got hurt.

Behind her, Tobi walked on top of the water and placed his large hand over her head, "Ne… you ok?" There was that childish tone again.

Pulling one of her fake smiles that had fooled even Naruto, Sakura looked up at the masked man, "Yes… thank you."

He flinched and spoke with worried regret. "Did Tobi hurt you? You don't look too happy…" How on earth did he know it was fake?

"No, you didn't hurt me," She raised her hands with palms out and tried to smile a little more genuine, "you were very gentle. Thank you."

"Oh… OH!?" He bopped his fist into his palm with realization, "It was pretty-chan's first time, too!"

Huh? He never had sex either… either he was lying, or he was just a natural.

"Tobi can't stay and make it up, Deidara-senpai probably is mad at Tobi again." Tobi hopped around with an anxious persona. Like he wanted to stay, but needed to leave.

"You better go then… else he will blow something up." Sakura giggled into her fist at Tobi's antics and he sighed in agreement.

"Bye bye! See you soon, Sakura-chan!" Tobi waved vigorously before vanishing into thin air within a blink of an eye.

Sakura began to wash herself off while making sure to send some chakra into her womb to kill the man's seed. No way was she explaining to the others if she got pregnant by a stranger…

Her thoughts went to Tobi's last promise to see her again and she tightened her fist.

Hopefully he wasn't implying to something terrible coming soon…

 **Obito**

He ran with his face in his hands like some embarrassed school-girl. He hadn't lied, that was his first time too… but he may have cheated a little with the help of his sharingan.


End file.
